Audrey's Bad Day
by MagPie003
Summary: Audrey is having a day full of aggravations when Nathan finds a way to make it better.  Silly fluff.  Of course, I own nothing.


_Author's Note: This story takes place in the same timeline as the Christmas special. Therefore, it's slightly AU. _

Audrey's bad day had actually started the evening before. The new sound system that Duke was so proud of pumped the Grey Gull's karaoke night right into her bedroom. Most of her night was spent listening to drunken out of tune renditions to 80's pop songs while fantasizing about doing horrible things to the speakers and their owner. Sleep didn't come until long after the bar had closed. When morning came, and her alarm squealed like it also had a death wish, it felt like she'd just closed her eyes. After slamming the snooze button several times, Audrey staggered over to the kitchen to find that she was out of coffee grinds and cereal. Oh well; at least the station would have coffee. Maybe, someone would think to bring in pastries. Fifteen minutes later, she ran down her steps mug-less, hair dripping, and already behind schedule. Audrey was frantically oblivious to her surroundings as she headed for her car. Otherwise, she would've noted the dark looming clouds overhead. The clouds didn't catch her notice until they let loose ten minutes later as she pulled into the station's parking lot. It was then that she remembered leaving her umbrella in her office the night before. By the time she reached the entrance to the station, her hair wasn't the only part of her that was dripping.

Her hopes of a hot cup from the station's coffee pot were dashed shortly after she'd finished wringing herself out. A loud crash came from the break room as she emerged from the restroom. Sight confirmed sound as she walked into the little room to find an embarrassed Stan hovering over what used to be their coffee pot. Resigned to a caffeine free morning, Audrey slunk to her desk. Her office was silent save for the hum of her monitor and the raindrops drumming against the windowpane. Nathan had finally moved to the Chief's office a few weeks before. Even though she had been the main voice encouraging him to take the space, Audrey couldn't deny how empty her own office now felt. How could the presence of someone so quiet fill up a room with so much?

Shaking her head, she flipped open the file on her desk and tried to block out her depressing thoughts and sour mood. Unfortunately, the dry paperwork did little to distance her from the deceptively soothing rhythm of the raindrops, her empty stomach, coffee-less brain, and sleepless body. She cradled her forehead in the palm of her hand to keep herself from laying it on her desk. Her eyes started to close as she attempted to read the same sentence for the third time. They closed fully as she made the fourth pass. Audrey was about to surrender to the need for sleep when another drumming sound cut across the raindrops. Opening her eyes, she saw long fingers tapping against her desk. Looking upwards she found that the fingers belonged to her partner.

"Rough night, or, rough morning?" Nathan asked, a small smile playing over his lips.

"Both. Duke decided that karaoke was a great idea, and, Stan just broke our coffee pot." She answered, trying not to be annoyed at his amusement. Nathan's smiles were rare. She didn't want to do anything to discourage them. The way this one made his lips curve made her stomach flip in a way that had nothing to do with missing breakfast.

"Well, I've got something to distract you," he offered, "Laverne got a call about some troubles at the Freddie."

"You're kidding me." She groaned. Dr. Lucassi really needed to find ways to better secure his hospital. Her shoulders slumped as she noticed the rain had yet to let up. So much for drying off anytime soon.

"Come on, Parker," Nathan coaxed as he picked up her umbrella from the side of her desk. "We'll get some coffee on the way."

"Well, when you put it that way…"

As promised, they swung by the little drive-thru coffee shop next to the station before heading out. Audrey's coffee was halfway gone by the time they reached the second stop light from the drive thru. The accompanying cornbread muffin didn't last much longer.

"Better?" Asked Nathan.

"Definitely," she answered, popping the final piece of the muffin into her mouth, "thanks for stopping first."

"It only took a minute," he deflected. "It's more for Dr. Lucassi's benefit anyways."

"Huh?"

"Face it, Parker, your pre-coffee state is a little scary." Nathan explained, another little smile twitching his lips.

"Oh, like you're Mr. Sunshine!" Audrey teased back, sipping more of her coffee. "So, why are we visiting the good doctor?"

"Laverne just said that a patient had wandered off." Nathan explained, turning onto the road where the hospital was located. "The patient's name is Mrs. Rachel Granger: A 56 year old first grade teacher who had a break down a few days ago. She suddenly decided that she could fly and nearly did so off the school roof onto the recess yard."

"If I spent my day surrounded by six-year-olds, I would snap too." Audrey commented with a mixture of sympathy and sarcasm. "How did she get past the new gate and fence? A middle aged woman would have a hard time hopping over that."

"See that's why I thought we should take the call versus a regular patrol. The gate was never-Whoa!"

Nathan's explanation that the gate had never been unlocked was cut short as he swerved and slammed the Bronco's brakes. The block in the road wasn't a deer or moose crossing, a fallen tree, or any other natural sight one could expect to meet on a small New England Road. There was absolutely nothing natural about the sight before them. Mrs. Granger was hovering about six feet off the ground in the middle of the road.

"I told you! I told you I wasn't crazy!" She cackled ecstatically as she continued to flitter about.

"Well, I think we've discovered how she got past the gate." Nathan observed. When Audrey didn't reply, he shifted his gaze from the woman in the road to the one next to him. He caught himself suppressing a laugh of his own as he took Audrey in. Splattered over her-finally- dry blouse and pants were the remains of her coffee. The sudden swerve and stop had caused the flimsy plastic lid to pop open and release the brown liquid all over her.

"Did you have to brake so hard?" She hissed in an acid tone.

"To avoid hitting the flying grade school teacher in the middle of the road? Yes" He answered, finally letting a chuckle through. Looking out the windshield again he added, "At least it's stopped raining."

Audrey's response was a look that could fry glass. As he speedily exited the truck to attend to Mrs. Granger, Nathan speculated about which woman needed sedation more.

After helping a rather troubled, but, decidedly sane Mrs. Granger with her discharge, they stopped by Audrey's apartment so she could change into clean clothes. Near the stairwell to her place, cheerfully scribbling onto his beloved chalkboard, was the man who'd been fortunate enough to miss her earlier that day. The morning's adventures had temporarily removed the night before from Audrey's memory. It came rushing to the forefront again as Duke flashed his patented "I'm so pleased with myself" grin in their direction.

"Greeting officers! You know, you missed out last -um, what happened to-?"

"Don't ask." Nathan warned, interrupting Duke's inquiry into the state of Audrey's ruined outfit.

"One of those days, huh?" He replied. "Ah well. As I was saying, last night's karaoke went so well we're doing it again. You really should come this time."

"Again? Oh, great, that's just what I need." Audrey snarled. "More drunk people singing!"

"Wow. You really are having a bad day." Duke commented, crestfallen, as she moved past him.

Audrey muttered a few choice words as she thumped up the steps. The quiet voice behind her told her that Nathan was explaining her outburst. By the time she exited the apartment, Duke was already gone. Nathan was sitting patiently on the steps with a take out bag. Peeking in she could see two sandwiches and a carton of fries.

"Peace offering from your landlord." He explained. "Apparently, it never occurred to him that setting things up right under your bedroom might be an issue. Duke's going to move a few things around downstairs so that the noise won't be as bad tonight."

"I really should apologize for snapping at him." Audrey sighed , feeling guilty about her earlier tone. She'd known what the drawbacks were to living over a restaurant. It wasn't fair of her to start growling about it now. Especially so since last night was the first time the problem had occurred.

"Wait until later." He cautioned, catching her sleeve as he sat up.

"Why?" She asked, worried that she'd actually hurt Duke's feelings.

"Because you want him to feel guilty long enough for him to fix the problem." Nathan pointed out with a smirk.

"You're good." Audrey responded with a laugh. "Remember how long it took him to get to that leak under the sink last month?"

"Parker, _I_ fixed the leak under your sink." He corrected.

"My point exactly."

In reply, Nathan chuckled and placed his free hand on the middle of her back as he steered her back towards the truck. Audrey normally tolerated physical contact with people for a very short time before shrinking away. Growing up with little physical affection made most touching seem invasive. That's why it surprised her to find the warmth from Nathan's hand so calming and natural. She didn't speed up her pace to move away or stare at his arm like it was an alien object. Instead, she kept in step with him as the first real smile of the day stole across her face. If Nathan noticed her smile, or the slight flush on her cheeks, he didn't say anything about it. However there was something softer in his eyes as he held open the passenger door.

The rain started up again before they made it back to the station. While it was lighter than the morning's downpour, it was continuous. The softer drumming was easier to push into the background as Audrey nibbled on a fry while trying-again- to finish up the paperwork she'd attempted that morning. Just like before, her office was silent. Nathan had to go back to his own office for a surprise meeting with the selectmen as soon as he'd finished his sandwich. While the files on her desk were no picnic, Audrey knew that she had the better deal. A meeting regarding "pressing issues" really meant an hour or two of navigating through red tape and small town politics. How someone as gruff and blunt as his father managed to survive the position was still a mystery to her.

It began to rain harder just as she realized she'd polished off not only her share of the fries, but, Nathan's as well. Reasoning that they would've been cold and soggy by the end of his meeting, she tossed the carton into the nearby trash can. As she finished her case report and moved to the next folder on her desk, the wind picked up as well. Audrey strangely found her self hoping that, just this once, she wouldn't get a call that would take her away from her desk for the rest of the afternoon. Here she could stay dry.

A kink formed in her neck and shoulders as she hunched over the file. Memories of Dr. Carr's complaints about her posture came to her mind as she reached back to rub at the knot at the base of her neck. When rubbing didn't work, she tried stretching. Closing her eyes, she leaned back and raided her hands over her head. The stretch was just starting to feel good when a large drop of water plopped onto the middle of her forehead. Audrey opened her eyes to find a brown stain on the ceiling that she hadn't noticed before. In the center of the stain a leak had sprung that had begun dripping behind her chair. For a moment, she considered placing her trash can behind her as a bucket and continuing with her work. However, another drop falling directly onto her head as she moved closer to the computer cinched that idea. The sour mood that had stayed in the background all day came back to the forefront of her emotions. She couldn't even get paperwork done today without something happening.

After moving her chair and shutting down her computer, she set up both desks' trash cans as makeshift buckets and called the station's custodian. He assured her he'd look into it tomorrow morning when it was drier outside. With a few hours left in her shift, Audrey had to figure out how to complete her work. She couldn't use the other desk. It just didn't feel right. The couch against the wall was another option. She could at least make notes and get things together for the final typed reports. Setting the folders in the middle, she curled up against the side of the couch with her legs tucked underneath her, balancing a file on the arm of the couch. It was a quite comfortable position under the circumstances. The lighting was good, the couch offered plenty of space, and the drip of the leak was barely noticeable. In fact, it was almost too comfortable. Audrey was only halfway down the first page when she started rubbing her eyes. The clock on the opposite wall told her it was past the time for her afternoon cup of coffee. The steady beat of the raindrops, and the extra fries sitting at the bottom of her stomach, weren't helping her to stay alert.

Audrey gave her head a small shake as she stifled a yawn and tried to focus on her work. She felt silly for being so worn out. It wasn't the first time she'd gone on barely any sleep and it certainly wasn't the first time she'd missed her regular dose of caffeine. Closing her eyes and pinching the bride of her nose, she contemplated ducking out for another cup of coffee as soon as the rain stopped.

That was her last thought before the hand brushed against her arm. The hand went from touching her to catching the file she knocked off the arm of the couch as she snapped awake. Grey blue eyes greeted her as opened her own.

"Hey, sleepy head." Nathan greeted softly. After shutting the office door he moved the folders over so he could sit next to her. Looking to the clock again, Audrey saw that hours had passed.

"I fell asleep?" She asked, yawning. A short nod was the only reply she received. "I'm sorry."

"I think it happens to everyone around here at some point." Nathan assured her. "At least you didn't snore like Stan did last time."

"Yeah, I thought a bear had gotten into the station." She agreed, stretching and sitting upright.

"So, any fries left? I could go for a snack."

"Oh, um, look I-" Her apology was cut off by a knowing smile on Nathan's face.

"Maybe loading up on fried carbs after a night of no sleep isn't the best method for staying awake." He suggested helpfully.

"I'll keep that in mind." Audrey replied dryly. She didn't really mind the teasing. It was a small price to pay for being caught sleeping on the job by her boss. Besides, she knew she was one of the very few people around that Nathan felt comfortable enough with to tease.

"Good. Anyways, I came in to give you this." He said, handing her a tiny decorated bag. It was silver and covered with shiny blue stars.

Audrey stared at him in confusion as she took the offered bag. It wasn't her birthday. Also, she was pretty sure that no troubles had cropped up that day that were related to gift giving holidays. Reaching inside, she pulled out a little box that contained a heart shaped crystal on a fine silver chain. The crystal was the same deep blue as many of her nicer clothes.

"Nathan, it's beautiful. But, why?"

"Remember how everyone but you thought it was Christmas a couple weeks ago?" Nathan asked.

"How could I forget?" Audrey laughed.

"Well, somewhere between waking up that morning, and, coming to in that toy store, I must have bought that for you." He explained shyly with one of those little smiles she adored. "I found it in my glove compartment the next day."

"I love it, but, why are you giving it to me now?" She asked

"I just couldn't; return it," Nathan answered, "especially since I didn't remember where I bought it and couldn't find a receipt. I decided to save it for when you were having a rough day and needed something extra to make you smile."

"Today definitely fit the bill. Thank you." Audrey said as she placed the chain around her neck. The pendant was sparkly, delicate, and something she never would have bought for herself. Yet, it still seemed to fit her perfectly. The necklace also wasn't something she would expect as a gift from someone she worked with; even if they were a partner. However, getting it from Nathan also seemed to fit too.

"I hope that tomorrow goes better because I don't have any more of those hidden anywhere." He replied. The slightly wider smile on his face told her just how much it pleased him to see her wearing his gift. The sight made her face feel hot and her stomach flip again.

"I also take cupcakes." Audrey offered slyly.

"Cupcakes huh?" He chuckled. "Just how many of those did it take for you to finally tell us what happened that day?"

"Not that many," she demurred.

"Really now?" Nathan pressed, giving her a pointed look.

"Half a dozen each." She admitted. "Duke cornered me as I left the apartment the next morning and you got to me when I reached the station. Who knew you'd both use the same trick?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that all that sugar and caffeine may be making you extra moody?" He teased.

"Says the man who lives on maple syrup!" She countered. "Besides, it all worked out. You both got the explanation you wanted and I made out like a bandit in the snack department."

"I still can't believe I had to bribe my own partner to tell me why I woke up alone on the floor of a toy store." Nathan grumbled.

"At least you didn't wake up on the road to Derry in a Santa suit."

"Yeah; sounds like an Irish tune gone wrong." He agreed. A look of distaste suddenly passed over his face. "Audrey, please tell me you didn't sit on his lap."

Something settled inside of her at the sound of her first name on his lips. Audrey finally understood how he was able to fill her office by just being there. His quiet, gentle nature nestled into the empty places inside of her in the exact same way. Like the necklace, Nathan was something that she never expected, but, still fit her perfectly. With this realization came the desire to confirm that he felt the same way. Now was the time to find out while she still had the nerve.

"Now, Nathan, why would I do that when I could sit on yours?" She drawled as she got up to do just that. The look on Nathan's face as she sat on his lap was one of pure shock.

"Audrey, what are you-"

"Hush." She cut in, kissing his forehead. Some of the tension left his body at the soothing gesture, making her hopeful. "That was for the necklace."

"This," she added, kissing his now closed eyes, "is for always trying to see things from my perspective."

"That," she said, kissing his cheek, "is for trying to keep me sane at the same time. And this is for everything else."

Before Nathan had the chance to say anything in return, she pressed her lips against his. Audrey got the answer she was hoping for as he eagerly returned the kiss. Hand slowly traveled up her back to pull her tightly against him. Her own hands started threading through his hair, sending a delightful shiver though his body. After another, toe curling kiss, she rested her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh.

"I think we've found a cure to stress that doesn't involve sugar and caffeine." Audrey purred into his neck, giggling as the sensation caused him to emit another involuntary shudder.

"We certainly have," Nathan replied huskily.

Long fingers tilted her face back up to his for another kiss that was passionate, yet, infinitely tender at the same time. How someone who couldn't feel became such an amazing kisser was a mystery Audrey would gladly explore. Before she could launch a full investigation, something buzzed against her thigh causing her to jump.

"It's my phone getting a text message." Nathan assured her with a laugh as he steadied her. Shifting her to one knee he reached into his pocket to answer it.

"Do you really need to answer that?" She moaned. Now was not the night for a late meeting.

"Yes, I do. It could be-oh, wait, maybe not." He decided, reviewing the message. "It's Duke. He's rearranged the sound equipment, but, doesn't want to call you if you're still in kill mode."

"What are you going to tell him?" She giggled.

"I think I'm going to tell him not to worry. You're not mad anymore, but, you're also staying someplace else tonight." He teased, kissing the tip of her nose before typing the reply with his free hand.

Audrey thought that was the best idea he'd ever had.


End file.
